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Week ending January 17, 2009

Eurovision - 43 countries represented at this year's Eurovision Song Contest - January 13, 2009
from Sietse Bakker/Eurovision

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) today announced the final list of countries which will be represented at this year’s 54th Eurovision Song Contest to take place in Moscow in May.

The countries are:

Albania (RTVSH); Andorra (RTVA); Armenia (ARMTV); Azerbaijan (Ictimai); Belarus (BTRC); Belgium (RTBF); Bosnia & Herzegovina (PBSBIH); Bulgaria (BNT); Croatia (HRT); Cyprus (CyBC); Czech Republic (CT); Denmark (DR); Estonia (ERR); Finland (YLE); FYR Macedonia (MKRTV); Georgia (GPB); Greece (ERT); Hungary (MTV); Iceland (RUV); Ireland (RTE); Israel (IBA); Latvia (LTV); Lithuania (LRT); Malta (PBS); Moldova (TRM); Montenegro (RTCG); the Netherlands (NOS); Norway (NRK); Poland (TVP); Portugal (RTP); Romania (TVR); Serbia (RTS); Slovakia (STV); Slovenia (RTVSLO); Sweden (SVT); Switzerland (SRG SSR idée suisse); Turkey (TRT) and Ukraine (NTU).

EBU Members from 38 countries will be represented in the two semi-finals, on 12 and 14 of May.

France (FT3); Germany (NDR/ARD); Russia (Channel One); Spain (TVE) and the United Kingdom (BBC) qualify automatically for the final on 16 May.

The draw to determine on which of the two nights the 38 semi-finalists will perform will take place on 30 January in Moscow. Among these, Slovakia returns to the competition after a nearly 10-year absence, while San Marino, represented at last year’s Contest, will not send a contestant to Moscow.

The draw for the running order of the semi-finals, final and voting order will take place in mid-March.

Svante Stockselius, the EBU’s Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, refers to the participants’ list as a "tight family", and says: "42 of last year's 43 represented countries are back in the competition. Together with the host broadcaster, Channel One from Russia, we are looking forward to another fantastic Eurovision Song Contest." He went on to say that, "despite a difficult year and the initial intention not to participate, Georgia returns to this year’s Contest. It is also great to see Slovakia back, after 10 years of absence!"

Arbitron - Michael Skarzynski Named President and Chief Executive Officer of Arbitron Inc. - January 12, 2009
from Jessica Benbow/Arbitron

The Board of Directors for Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) announced today that it has appointed Michael P. Skarzynski as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Mr. Skarzynski will also be appointed to Arbitron’s Board of Directors. Stephen B. Morris will continue as chairman of the board and will be an advisor to Mr. Skarzynski during the transition.

“After a thorough search process, we believe we have selected the candidate that best matches the requirements for leading the company during these challenging economic times,” said Phil Guarascio, Arbitron director and chairman, Arbitron Board Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. “Michael Skarzynski is an accomplished corporate executive with three decades of experience in general management, sales, marketing, finance, business development, technology, government and international business. He is the perfect leader to build on Arbitron’s strong foundation and to leverage the latest technology to respond to the rapidly changing needs of our current clients and future customers around the world.”

“When I came to Arbitron in December 1992, we were just announcing the program to develop the Portable People Meter. Now that the PPM has been successfully commercialized in 14 markets and remains on track for its full commercialization in the top radio markets, this is a good time to hand the reins over to a new chief executive officer,” said Mr. Morris. “Michael is a visionary leader who can translate the needs of customers and the marketplace into innovative products and services.”

Most recently, Mr. Skarzynski served as chief executive officer of Iptivia, a privately held performance management software company based in New York City, where he was responsible for the restructuring and global expansion of the business.

“What attracted me to Arbitron are the significant accomplishments and market leadership of the company,” said Mr. Skarzynski. “I am impressed with the enormous opportunity for Arbitron and I am honored to join this team. My priorities are clear: focus the collective talent and commitment of the Arbitron team to support our worldwide customer base and ensure our joint success in today’s economic climate.”

Mr. Skarzynski was an executive with Lucent and AT&T Network Systems where he held a number of sales, marketing, business development and general manager positions, including vice president and chief operating officer of the Emerging Service Provider Business, a multi-billion dollar business unit.

He has served as chief executive officer for one public company, Performance Technologies and three privately held technology firms – Iptivia, Xebeo and Predictive Networks.

His experience also includes management positions with Motorola and appointments as Assistant Secretary for Trade Development and Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Mr. Skarzynski started his career as an Assistant to the President of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Skarzynski earned a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University in 1978 and a Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern University in 1983. He is a member of the Council on Competitiveness, National Defense Industrial Association, Navy League of the United States, Association for Corporate Growth, Lean Enterprise Institute and is a ‘49er’ with the Young Presidents Organization.

Mr. Skarzynski, 52, will work at the Arbitron Columbia, Maryland office.

Steve Morris, 65, served as chief executive officer for Arbitron for 16 years and will continue to serve as chairman of the board.

RNW - NRC Handelsblad International and RNW join forces on the Web - January 12, 2009
from Marjolein Klaassen-Hulst/RNW

The English-language websites of Dutch quality daily NRC Handelsblad and international broadcaster Radio Netherlands Worldwide have launched a partnership. During a three-month trial period, www.rnc.nl/international and www.radionetherlands.nl will be exchanging news stories and background articles. The collaboration will widen the editorial content of both media, will increase the depth of their journalism, and will increase the reach of RNW and NRC.

Both English-language websites cater for an international audience. For decades, Radio Netherlands Worldwide has been presenting news and background reports in English, on radio and online. In September 2008 NRC Handelsblad unveiled its English-language website, for which it is working with other European partners, such as the English edition of Germany's weekly news magazine Der Spiegel.

If the three month trial is successful, both RNW and NRC Handelsblad want to expand their exchange of editorial material. During the trial period the emphasis will be on news and current affairs. The practical experience gained should lay the foundations for a permanent collaboration which will in the longer term include joint multimedia productions.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide's Director-General, Jan Hoek, says this is a fine example of how public broadcasters and the press can work together. "By seeing each other as colleagues, rather than as competitors, we are able to reinforce both of our organisations. In this way, Radio Netherlands Worldwide is contributing to pluriformity in the media, with both public broadcasters and daily newspapers. For us, this is a first step towards further co-operation with the dailies," Mr Hoek says.

EUROVISION TO OFFER OBAMA INAUGURATION IN HIGH-DEFINITION - January 12, 2009
from Michelle Roverelli/EBU

Eurovision, the premier distributor of news content for the world's top broadcast and media platforms, will offer a high-definition (HD) feed of the Inauguration of President Barack Obama to European broadcasters on Tuesday January 20th. It will be the first ever live news event offered by Eurovision to broadcasters in HD.

The multi-camera feed will cover the Inauguration ceremony and speech by Barack Obama at noon Washington time (1700 GMT, 1800 Central European Time). There will then be a motorcade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, where the new President will sit to view the two-hour Inaugural Parade.

Eurovision will receive the material at the headquarters of its US subsidiary, Eurovision Americas Inc. in Washington DC. The feed will be standards converted from 60 to 50 frames per second before being switched to Europe on the transatlantic leg of the Eurovision FiNE fibre network. Distribution to takers in Europe will be by both satellite and fibre.

Eurovision Americas’ facilities for the Inaugural will break all records for this event. On rooftops overlooking the US Capitol, the organization is providing five two-camera switched presenting positions, as well as a further 18 single-camera positions around Washington and four studios with a live chroma key of the Capitol ceremony.

Bill Dunlop, President and CEO of Eurovision Americas, Inc., said, “The unprecedented interest in the US election is being more than matched by the demand for services for the Inauguration. All over Europe, networks are planning special programming to bring this historic day to their viewers live. Eurovision is more than trebling the number of circuits it provided for the same event four years ago.”

Eurovision Americas’ all-HD headquarters in Washington DC is a major hub of the Eurovision network. As well as news services, it standards, converts and routes numerous HD live sports events to Europe and Asia, including the PGA golf tour, major league basketball, ice hockey and baseball.